President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Friday evening that the administration was in “deep negotiation” with Hamas, adding that some of the remaining living Israeli hostages held in Gaza may have “recently died.”
“We’re in very deep negotiation with Hamas. We said, let them all out right now, let them all out, and much better things will happen for them. But if you don’t let them all out, it’s going to be a tough situation. It’s going to be nasty,” said Trump.
Later in his comments, Trump reiterated his claim from late August that “some” of the remaining 20 living hostages in Gaza may have “recently died,” without offering details.
“I think of the 20, there could be some that have recently died, is what I’m hearing. I hope that’s wrong, but you have over 30 bodies in this negotiation,” said Trump.
Trump’s comments came the same day that Hamas released a video of two hostages, Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Alon Ohel, as the Israeli military prepares for its takeover of Gaza City. The escalated offensive has drawn criticism from IDF leaders as well as the families of the hostages for potentially endangering the lives of the hostages still remaining in the city.
During the press briefing, Trump said that his administration had negotiated the release of “almost all” of the hostages, crediting U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, for aiding in the releases.
“We got, like, a tremendous number out, but I always said, when you get down to the final 10 or 20, you’re not going to get them out unless you’re going to do a lot,” said Trump. “And doing a lot means capitulation.”
